Designing microtopographic structures to facilitate seedling recruitment in degraded salt marshes

The onset of secondary seed dispersal is controlled by germination‐features: A neglected process in sudden saltmarsh establishment

“…6). However, the exact or approximate dispersal distance for saltmarsh species during each dispersal stage remains unclear, since the dispersal distance of (germinated) seeds would not be determined solely by the theoretical buoyance‐dependent potential, but also by various abiotic conditions, such as tidal rhythm, current velocity, and nearshore structure (Ruiz‐Montoya et al 2012; Wang et al 2018; Van der Stocken et al 2019). Here, we conceptually compared the dispersal potential of saltmarsh seeds at different dispersal stages based on existing information (Fig.…”

“…The tidal flat of the CDNR in spring is usually characterized by highly heterogeneous micro-topographic structures, such as hummocks and hollows, as well as caves dug by benthos (e.g., crabs, mudskippers). These structures act as "barriers" or "shelters," which can effectively trap and retain (positively buoyant) seeds when they periodically contact with the substrate during the semi-diurnal tidal cycle (Wang et al 2018;Xie et al 2019;Qiu et al 2021). Interestingly, recent studies have reported that seedling establishment at new sites tends to occur on raised micro-topography covered by biostabilizers (such as diatom biofilms and fibrous algae Vaucheria; Fivash et al 2020;Van de Vijsel et al 2020), implying that biostabilizers may also provide a viable conduit for trapping and retaining the dispersed (germinated) seeds.…”

Plant community distribution induced by microtopography due to soil cracks developed in overgrazed alpine meadows on the Tibetan Plateau

“…Microtopography, which is variation in the soil surface at the scale of approximately 1 cm to 1 m (Moser, Ahn, & Noe, 2007;Wolf, Ahn, & Noe, 2011), can create diverse microhabitats and increase the heterogeneity in alpine ecosystems; additionally, microtopography has been shown to particularly influence soil physicochemical and hydrological processes, leading to the spatial differentiation of soil properties, thus further affecting the community composition (Suriyavirun et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2018;Wolf et al, 2011). Microtopography is the result of natural processes such as plant root growth, cracking, animal burrowing, water flow, litter fall, etc.…”

“…They found that microtopographic heterogeneity strongly influenced soil properties, and caused differences in seedling survival, growth, and frequency of colonizing species distribution not only across topographic positions (mound and pool), but also over time with significant changes in species survival and composition. Wang et al (2018) proved the effectiveness of microtopographic heterogeneity in seed retention across spatial and temporal scales in degraded salt marshes.…”

“…Environmental heterogeneity is generally affected by microtopography (Rose & Malanson, 2012;Wang, Cui, Luo, & Shi, 2018), and the disturbance regime was found to correspond with microtopography units. Differences in microtopography are likely to be associated with differences in soil characteristics such as soil moisture, temperature, bulk density, and nutrient content, which will influence the occurrence of different vegetation types (Simmons, Ben Wu, & Whisenant, 2011;Suriyavirun, Krichels, Kent, & Yang, 2019), then generally provides a wide range of microhabitats to support the co-existence of different species (Niu et al, 2020), which can lead to effective niche differentiation (De ak et al, 2015).…”